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The Rental Rehabilitation Program (RRP) was authorized on November 30, 1983, by Section 301 of the 1983 Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act. Congress initially appropriated $300 million for the program ($150 million each for FY 1984 and FY 1985) to be distributed on a formula entitlement basis to cities with a population of 50,000 or more, urban counties, consortia of units of general local government, and States for the rehabilitation of privately owned rental housing. In addition, funds were appropriated to provide rental assistance, in the form of Section 8 certificates and housing vouchers, for approximately 60,000 households. The primary objective of the Rental Rehabilitation Program is to increase the supply of safe, decent, and affordable housing for lower income households through the renovation of the existing rental housing stock. As such, it reflects a general shift away from the more expensive new construction programs of the past. The program is also targeted to a segment of the stock which has received less attention under previous rehabilitation programs-- smaller rental properties with moderate repair needs. Finally, the program breaks traditional patterns by adopting a "split subsidy" approach. Rehabilitation subsidies are provided to property owners to help support the costs of repairs, but project rents are allowed to rise to their market levels. At the same time, rental assistance is made available to eligible lower income tenants, who can either remain in the renovated units or move elsewhere.